Posted by Michelle Butler Oct 9 2011, 1:32 pm in 10 Healthy Guidelines, clothing, eating healthy, food, Michelle Butler, Michelle Mondays, weight loss
Since I started blogging here in August of 2009, I have written many posts about starting over. My largest work event of the whole year was just last week, and its conclusion always seems to me like the turning of a page and a new start. I’ve come to welcome it. I’m also aware of how bad my eating habits got the week before this work conference and how that contributed at times to me feeling badly about myself.
Another recent theme for me this year is one of struggling to succeed at my healthy living efforts and even gaining weight. The scale at Weight Watchers has been telling me that consistently since my birthday week. Choosing which fall business clothes I would wear last week really strengthened that message. I can still fit into some of my size 12 clothing, but some are now too tight to wear in public. Furthermore, I’ve gotten rid of all my size 14 and higher clothing, so there is nothing else to expand into so to speak. Here is another reason to start over.
Yet, there is something about the phrase “start over” that I don’t like. It seems to negate all the good I’ve done in the past and even continued to do while I was struggling. I think the fact that I was aware of my weight gain and the poor choices behind it is a success. I couldn’t seem to stop it, but I never lost awareness enough that I went to sleep and woke up 20 pounds heavier one day. As long as you are aware of it, you can change it.
I also think some of the systems I’ve built into my life to help me succeed, or at least keep me from quitting, has helped me stay aware. I’m still going to Weight Watchers regularly. I have to blog here every Monday about my healthy living efforts. As I mentioned earlier, the biggest clothes size I have is my current size 12. I can’t pull out bigger sizes and continue to ignore what my eating habits are doing to me.
So, start over doesn’t seem to capture what I’m going to do this week. Yes, I am looking forward to returning full force to my healthy living habits and seeing some forward progress in the fit of my clothes and perhaps even the scale. It is something that can fill me with positivity and optimism in a way that the phrase start over does not seem to capture it. What should I call it?
Posted by Trish Milburn Jun 8 2011, 12:01 am in clothing, eating healthy, exercise, guest blogger, weight loss
By Guest Blogger Christine Glover Thank you to the Healthy Writer bloggers for inviting me to share my Healthy Writer story. I have been following all the Healthy Writer adventures and relating to the ups and downs of trying to get healthy. Like the writers on this blog, I’ve had my share of diet successes [...]
Posted by Michelle Butler Aug 16 2010, 1:21 am in clothing, exercise, goals, Michelle Butler, Michelle Mondays, non-scale victories, running, weight loss
Last Tuesday, I chatted with a woman in my Weight Watchers group as we were in the elevator going up to the 11th floor where our meetings are held. I told her that the weigh ins were my least favorite part of the whole process. She was shocked by that and asked, “Why?” I was [...]
Posted by Michelle Butler Jul 26 2010, 1:41 am in clothing, Emotional Eating, exercise, Expectations, fear, Michelle Butler, Michelle Mondays, non-scale victories
So, this was supposed to be a very positive post. I just completed my back to basics month that started with me coming up with a new plan. I lost 3 pounds the first week, 0.6 the second, stayed the same the third, and was expecting a big loss the 4th week. I had already [...]
Posted by Michelle Butler Apr 12 2010, 5:00 am in bad habits, clothing, Emotional Eating, Michelle Butler, Michelle Mondays
This past Tuesday night, I had a bad weigh in at Weight Watchers as I gained 2.4 pounds. While I try to approach the scale with zero expectations to prevent some kind of emotional boomerang, I do not always succeed. As I wait in line for my turn to get weighed, I can always come [...]
Posted by Michelle Butler Apr 5 2010, 5:01 am in clothing, exercise, Michelle Butler, Michelle Mondays
Spring is here! It’s a time of renewal, rebirth, and even redemption. It’s a great time to determine where you are on your journey to become a healthy writer and decide if you are happy with your progress. Are you doing your best? Can you do more? Do you want to increase your efforts? I [...]
Posted by Michelle Butler Mar 22 2010, 5:01 am in clothing, confidence, Michelle Butler, Michelle Mondays, motivation, non-scale victories
About a year ago, I finally passed the ten-pound loss mark. It was an exciting milestone. Yes, it took me nearly 3 months to lose those 10 pounds, but it was the fastest 10 pounds I’d ever lost, and I know I can be a slow loser. I’ve even accepted that I can’t or won’t [...]
Posted by Michelle Butler Mar 16 2010, 6:18 pm in clothing, Michelle Butler, non-scale victories
My own post yesterday inspired me to go to the local Ann Taylor at lunch today and try on 6 pairs of pants in size 10. To my shock and glee, 4 of the 6 fit (though they were on the tight side), and I could get the two pairs of jeans on and might [...]
Posted by Michelle Butler Mar 15 2010, 5:01 am in clothing, confidence, Michelle Butler, Michelle Mondays, motivation, non-scale victories
For the third time in my life, I have done a full sweep of my wardrobe and pulled out all the clothes that are now too big. I seem to have a strong pattern to this process. Like the first and second times I did this, it starts in a frenzy of joy and celebration. [...]
Posted by Michelle Butler Nov 30 2009, 6:01 am in clothing, Michelle Butler, Michelle Mondays, motivation, non-scale victories
Even though I now have lost 30 or so pounds, I still hate the scale. The number it shows almost always disappoints me, and it’s not enough of a reward to keep going. I’ve worked on finding other ways to measure my progress and establish short-term goals to work towards. One of my favorites is [...]
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